The Cowboy of Coledale Fief
by TheRanger0119
Summary: When Jess McNally stumbles through a magic portal to the land of Araluen with no way of returning, she must use the skills she learned on her Father's Ranch to survive. During her attempts to find a way home, she encounters bandits, gamblers, and a Ranger with a grey horse who offers his assistance. With the help of her new friends, will this cowgirl make it or break it?
1. Chapter 1 Discovery

Jess was a tall girl with long, wild red hair braided down her back. Her sun-tanned face was covered in freckles . Her large, warm brown eyes surveyed the dusty Texas landscape, following the cattle drive on her horse, Colorado, who was a small palomino. She was riding along the left-hand flank slowly swinging her lasso to keep the cattle in line. If any cattle broke free, it was her job to chase them and rope them to get them back.

"You doing alright there, missy?"

Jess sighed with frustration, "I'm fine, Jonny. This isn't my first cattle-drive." Jonny was a new hand on her Daddy's Ranch, having only been on the job for about a month. He was average height and had sandy blonde hair with grey eyes poking out from underneath his large hat. He seemed to think that girls didn't belong on a cattle drive. Even though it was the 21st century.

"All right then. Just checking." Jonny seemed kinda hurt but Jess didn't care.

 _The sooner he learns that I know what I'm doing, the sooner I'll start being nice to him_. Suddenly, a heifer broke ranks and started heading out into open country.

"I've got it." Jess called out and she nudged Colorado in the heifer's direction. She goaded him into a canter, chasing after the rogue cow. She slowed down at the crest of a hill, you never knew what could be on the other side and she didn't want to fall off a cliff. At the top, she saw two lone trees that seemed to form an arch, but there was no sign of the heifer. Jess squeezed Colorado's flank, bringing him up to a trot. She headed straight for the two trees, she wanted to get a look at the rest of the countryside and check if she could find that cow. As she crossed paths with the twin trees, the vast desert country blurred together and became a large wheat field.

What on earth?! "Whoa, Colorado. Steady boy!" At the change of scenery, her horse had panicked and she had eased back on the reins to bring him to a stop. She surveyed her surroundings and first noticed a heifer, exactly like the one she had been chasing, feeding on the clover. She turned in the saddle and saw two trees, exactly like the ones that she had just raced though in the Texas wilderness. She turned Colorado around and kneed him to start him walking. They passed through the two trees but nothing happened. _Maybe I need to be trotting._ Jess brought Colorado back around and spurred him into a trot. She passed through the trees a second time, but again, nothing. By now, Jess was beginning to panic. _OK, Jess. Calm down. There seems to be a village just over yonder. I'll make for that and try to find out where I am._

As Jess entered the small, ramshackle town, she got a lot of strange looks from the locals. This was when she noticed that they were dressed far differently than she was. In fact, their clothing looked older, almost like from medieval times. She stopped and tied Colorado up in front of the local inn next to a small, shaggy gray horse. It was an older building, with the roof threatening to cave in places. In front, there was a sign with the picture of a river otter painted on it. It was creaking ominously on its wooden post. When she walked in, most of the patrons looked at her with suspicious looks on their faces and Jess felt her heart start to beat faster. _A lot of these men are pretty seedy looking, and they all seem to missing something or other, an ear, a tooth, a finger. All I've got on me is my rope, my jackknife, and my spurs. Let's hope I don't get into any fights_. Jess was an observant girl but she didn't notice a figure in the corner, his face hidden by the cowl of his grey-green mottled cloak, who unknown to her, had been studying her very closely.

"Can I get you anything?" Jess looked up and noticed the innkeeper standing directly in front of her.

"Nah, I haven't any money. What I do need, though, is some information. What country am I in, where exactly am I?

The innkeeper looked at her with a funny expression, he was used to dealing with strange persons though, so he wasn't too surprised. "You're in Araluen, miss. In Coledale Fief.

"Wait, Araluen? Is that some sort of third-world country? Or is it European?" "What are you talking about?" The innkeeper may be used to strange people, but this girl was going beyond the usual strange.

 _What on earth is happening? Everybody has heard of Europe and of third-world countries!_ "So Coledale is the name of this town, right?"

"No, miss. This town is called Sean. Coledale is the name of the fief. Didn't you see Castle Coledale when you came into town?"

"No, I didn't see any castle." _If this town is called Sean, and the country is Araluen, I guess Coledale Fief is like a state for the U.S.A._

"Well than you must be blinder than a bat, miss. It's huge, just over the way on a hill across the river. You can't miss it."

"Well obviously you can. I seem to have. Well, thanks for all your help." With that, the innkeeper walked away to tend to other customers and Jess was left to her thoughts. While she was contemplating her predicament, two large men got up and walked over to her. Not noticing until they had already sat down on either side of her, Jess tried to ignore them. _Oh what do they want? I don't have anything. Oh why won't they just go away?_

The man on her right began to speak, "You're in our territory now, girl. And everyone who passes through has to pay the toll."

"Uh, well what do you want?"

This time, the man's partner spoke, "One gold royal for each time you come in here."

"Well I don't feel like paying so I'll just leave." Jess made to get up but the man on her right grabbed her wrist. She tried to twist away but he held her in that vice-like grip of his.

"Oh I don't think so girl. You are going to pay whether you want to or not." In response, Jess slammed her boot heel down on his foot, hard. Her boots had an inch of heel and caused the man to let go of her arm, reaching down to cradle his hurt foot. Jess took her chance and made for the door, the man's partner was too stunned to give chase so Jess made it outside. She hurriedly mounted Colorado and spurred him into a gallop. She decided to go the opposite way of which she came so that she could get to know the area. She never noticed the man in the cloak coming out shortly after and mounting the grey horse, nor did she see him begin to follow her at a steady trot.


	2. Chapter 2 Flashback

Will had been studying the stranger from the moment she walked in. He knew instantly that something was amiss. Her clothing was all wrong. He was curious as to where she came, no country that he knew of dressed the way she did. Her large hat and strange boots were near impossible to ignore. Then there was the strange 'clink' sound that seemed to follow her. She might as well have a sign on her back that said 'Look at me!'. Not only that but the way she composed herself, it was just… different. Listening closely to what she said to the innkeeper, and hearing the confusion in her voice about where she was, helped to conclude his suspicion. She clearly didn't belong here. When the two men had approached her, she had managed to defend herself, but only just. He was going to follow her, he wanted to see where she was going, and to make sure that she didn't get into anymore trouble. After the two thugs had gone back to their original table, Will got up, paid for his coffee, and left the inn. Before he mounted Tug, he managed to catch sight of her on a tall palomino horse, a short ways from the end of the street. He could tell, even from the far distance that she was very familiar with her horse and was an experienced rider. Mounting Tug was more difficult than it had been a couple weeks ago.

 **Flashback-A Few Weeks Before**

Will hesitated before knocking on Crowley's door. He contemplated what job Crowley would give him this time. He had received a hastily scrawled note from a local deliverer that read:

 **Will,**

 **I request that you come to my office immediately. A problem has arisen that will require your talents. Thank you in advance.**

 **-Crowley**

Once Will had read this he hastened to get to Crowley as fast as he could. He knew it must be a very serious problem if the ranger already stationed wherever this crisis had occurred couldn't handle the situation himself. Now, as he banged his hand on the door, he hoped that it wouldn't be too bad. The door made a solid thunking sound and was almost immediately thrown open by Crowley. "Oh good, you're here Will, come in, sit down." Crowley looked rather nervous. Will saw documents on his desk, and in piles on the floor. There was no furniture in the room except for the desk and the chair behind it. None in view anyway. Will decided not to mention this and instead seated himself upon one of few sturdier looking piles of paper.

"You sent for me?", He questioned.

"Yes, yes. I'd like you to read this report that I recently received from Martinsyde Fief. Tell me what you think of it when your done."

Will decided he had better avoid making any jokes about his thinking about something, giving the present circumstances. He accepted the paper in Crowley's outstretched hand and looked through it.

 **Baron Walters,**

 **We have decided that your reign over this fief has been tolerated long enough. We request that you resign immediately and let someone more adept take over your rule. This is to be done before sunset on the eve after tomorrow. In case you were considering, rejecting this command we have taken five of you subjects to make sure that you are willing to comply. If, after your deadline, you have not given up your post, one of them will die. Each day you fail to meet our demands another person will die, and you will know that this is all your fault. I hope that you will see the sense in agreeing to these terms before it is too late.**

 **-The Waterbarrow Brothers**

"Well that was cheery. So you're sending me in because the assigned ranger can't handle the issue?"

"Not at all, Will. That's why I'm so nervous. The ranger on duty is one of the hostages."

"What?" Will was stunned. Up until this point he assumed that these were just ordinary bandits or outlaws. The news that they had been able to take an actual ranger hostage was almost unbelievable.

"When was this? Where'd they do it? How'd they do it?", Will asked. He was desperate for more information now. This was a big problem.

"The Baron received this note first thing yesterday morning. It was nailed to the castle door. He immediately sent for Skinner. He got worried when he didn't arrive and sent men down to the town to see what was wrong. At this point he assumed that this was just a hoax. Barons and kings are always being threatened like this, you learn to become used to it. When his men returned, however, they reported that five people were missing. The butcher, a tailor, the tax collector, the innkeeper, and Skinner himself. Whoever planned this must have an informant inside the castle. They were able to take Skinner when he was out on a small job, tracking a rogue wolf they had seen around the woods. Local townspeople saw they saw him leave, around midday, but no one saw him return. They didn't think much of it at the time. They know rangers won't be seen when they don't want to be seen. Besides what a ranger does is no business of theirs. When the Baron's men started asking questions though, it all seemed to fit into place."

"So what is going on right now?"

"The military commander is trying to snoop around, get information. He feels terrible, says its all his fault. He says it was his job to protect his fief and that he failed. He wants to make up for that fact. No one wants to argue with him, so the let him go about his business. To be honest though, hes not very inconspicuous, if you know what I mean"

Will knew what he meant. Military commanders are very straight forward. He had been around Horace long enough to know that they always think that things are simple. Right, wrong. Black,white. You did or you didn't. He could just imagine the commander walking around town, asking the locals if they were a member of the waterbarrow brothers.

"I can leave right away, I should be able to get there in about two hours time. Speed is essential at this point, since we only have until sundown today."

"Thank you Will. If you need to tell the stablemaster to lend you a horse, Tug must be slightly tired from your ride here."

"He's fine sir, it only took us five hours to get here, Tug could run that speed all day if I asked him to."

"Yes, you're right, he is a ranger horse after all." Crowley smiled.

"Indeed he is" Will let a slight smile touch his lips before turning and opening the door. Just as he was about to leave Crowley called after him.

"Do be careful Will, something about this issue just doesn't seem right. I can feel it." Without turning back Will replied,

"I'm always careful".

And then he was gone, leaving Crowley staring after him, "That's what I'm afraid of," Crowley muttered.

"I heard that!"

" _What's the adventure this time?"_ Tug's body language always spoke volumes to Will.

"We get to go to Martinsyde Fief to deal with some outlaws who don't like Baron Walters. They have hostages so we need to do this quickly."

' _What about the Ranger-boy assigned there? Sam, right?"_

"His name's Skinner and he's one of the hostages."

" _Makes sense, he is fairly new."_

"I can't believe you remember that."

" _I remember everything."_ Tug said with a shake of his mane.

"Obviously not since you got his name wrong."

" _I got the first letter right."_

"I can get the last word with Crowley, but not you. Will I ever?"

" _Never,"_ Tug threw back his mane in a pompous manner.

"And you say Blaze has a big ego."

Tug looked back at him with a horrified expression in his eyes, " _Did you just compare me to Blaze? Blaze?! Oh no!"_

"It's all right, boy. You're nothing like Blaze."

" _Thank goodness."_

The rest of the ride was quiet except for Tug's soft hoofbeats and the sound of Ebony's panting. When the trio finally arrived at Castle Martinsyde, it was early evening but it was Will's job to check in with the Baron immediately. As he rode into the courtyard of the castle he dismounted signaled to the stable boy.

"Can you bring my horse to the stable please? Give him a good rub and some oats please."

 _What about my apple?_

"Oh yes, here Tug", Will gave Tug an apple quickly, then flashed a look at the stable boy. Though he looked rather nervous about being directly addressed by a ranger, he looked confident enough and adept at his job. Will hated not being able to take care of Tug himself, but he had to get into the Baron immediately.

"Of course sir, I'll see to it right away" The boy hurriedly grabbed the reins and started to lead Tug to the stable.

"Go on, Tug, Will said. As Tug walked away obediently Will smiled to himself. If he had not uttered those word, Tug wouldn't have moved even if the castle were under siege. He turned on his heel and strode briskly to the castle door. He opened it and trotted up the stairs to the second floor where the Barons office was, with Ebony at his heels. He arrived at the Baron's door and knocked three times. A voice from inside called out.

"Come in."

As Will entered he looked around the office. It was much tidier than Crowley's had been. It was furnished and at least had a chair for him to sit in.

"Ranger Will, thank goodness you're here."

"I came as soon as I could Baron Walters"

Will noticed another man standing next to the Baron's desk. He was tall, with broad shoulders, he had close cropped brown hair, was extremely fit. He emanated confidence, and had an air of command about him. Will felt like he was being scrutinized and felt unusually small. The thing that unsettled Will the most though were his eyes. They were cold, and empty, their black depths containing no sign of joy. He knew immediately knew that this man was the battlemaster.

' _This is a man that has seen many battles.'_ Will thought, and shifted his gaze back to the Baron. This man was a complete opposite of the commander. He was short and plump with a round cherub face. his eyes were a startling green but they were clouded with worry.

"Yes, it is good that you are here, Ranger." The battlemaster's voice was deep and low.

"Battlemaster Wartholt has collected some more information for you. I will let him tell you what he's found out", Baron Walters advised..

"Thank you, sir. We already know the approximate time of when Ranger Skinner was taken. It was about 3 days ago at 4 o'clock. He was tracking down a rogue wolf in the southern corner of the town. The other four were taken at night soon after. Two men and two women, all from the southern corner of town. We have no idea how many men are part of this group but don't believe that it could be more than a dozen.

"Thank you, Sir Wartholt. I think I have a general idea of where these kidnappers most likely are. Now I'd best be on my way, it'll be best if I catch these guys before sunset.

"Of course, please, don't let us delay you", the Baron replied.

As Will turned to leave, he heard the battlemaster call after him.

"Wait, please, let me come with you. This whole thing is my fault. Let me fix my mistake."

Remembering what Crowley had told him of the battlemaster's guilt, Will turned to look at him. He wouldn't be able to sneak around as well with a knight blundering after him, but then again, if there were really half a dozen men out there, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra hand.

"Very well, come, let's get our horses ready."

The battlemaster nodded once then followed him out the door.

It was noon time by the time Will and Wartholt got outside and exited through the southern gate. As they rode along the worn trail through the wood, Will was alert for any sign of Skinner or the wolf. Wartholt didn't say much and neither did Will, the seriousness of this situation sort of discouraged conversation. Soon Will spotted some trampled bushes along the right side of the trail. He stopped Tug and pointed them out to Wartholt.

"Look, this must be where Skinner left the trail"

He nudged Tug over the bushed and immediately spotted wolf tracks and horse tracks. The horse tracks were deep enough for Will to tell that is had a rider, and that they were made some time after the wolf tracks.

"Come on, let's see where these take us, and be quiet, I don't want this wolf knowing that were in his woods." Will told the battle master. He nodded again to show Will his understanding and spurred his horse into the woods alongside Will.

' _He sure is a man of few words, isn't he',_ Will thought, then urged Tug into a steady trot following the tracks. Ebony was close behind. She understood the gravity of the situation and was as quiet as Tug.

It was about half an hour later when Will noticed the difference in the tracks. Suddenly there were foot prints that came out of the bushes and followed the other tracks that they had been following. Will stopped Tug and dismounted, bending to get a closer look at the foot prints. They were definitely a man's, and they were deep. That meant that he was big. They were about an hour behind Skinner, but closing fast. He estimated about fifteen minutes before they caught up with him. Will told all this to Wartholt then mounted Tug again and cantered down the trail.

When they reached the spot where the footprints caught up with Skinner Will knew that this is where he was going to have to be very alert. Will dismounted Tug and looked around. He noted the crumpled bushes all around the area and he counted at least three sets of foot prints. There were lots of hoofmarks and the grass in the area was well trampled. He went about ten meters in to the foliage on all sides, looking for where they had gone once they captured Skinner. He saw another much smaller trail a little south west of the path. Going further in he could now see the track more clearly. He saw one set of foot prints next to hoof tracks. That must have been an outlaw leading Skinners horse. Then he saw two more pairs of footprints that appeared to be half dragging, half carrying what must have been Skinner. Now he knew he was dealing with at least three outlaws. He guessed that there were only three because if he were to try and capture a ranger he would want to use all the people at his disposal. Walking back to where he had left Tug and Wartholt he explained his thoughts, remounted Tug, and snuck down the small path left by the outlaws.

"We need to be very quiet from now on", he told Wartholt. "I don't know how close the camp is, so we need to be prepared".

"Of course", Warthollt replied.

Will took the lead. He went about twenty meters ahead of Wartholt, so he could sneak up on the outlaws easier when they found their camp. Tug, being the ranger horse that he was, made almost no sound when he placed his hooves on the ground. Will made no sound either. Wartholt however was getting on his nerves. He appeared to be trying to keep absolutely silent, but his huge battle horse just wasn't suited for the job. With every tree or bush it brushed up against to Will it sounded like a pack of wild boars were after him. He winced every time a twig cracked beneath its giant hooves. He was just about to turn around and tell him to wait behind while he crept ahead when he got a peculiar feeling. Like someone was watching him. He held up a fist to tell Wartholt to stop. As he peered around into the forest, suddenly he saw him. There was a tall sandy haired man standing just at the edge of the woods, about ten meters ahead of them. Will had been too focused on Wartholt and hadn't seen him until this moment. Suddenly he was aware that Ebony's hackles were raised and she was emitting a low growl. Will quieted her then looked back up the path. The man stepped out on to the trail. Will heard more rustling and turned to see two more men come out behind them. One was red-haired, the other had brown hair and was olive skinned. He guessed that they were all in their twenties, about as old as Will. They were considerably bigger though. They wore rough, ragged clothes of brown and black. Will turned back around when he heard the first man talk.

"Looks like the Baron wasn't planning on following our directions boys. Had to send a sneaker out to stop, us he did."

"Baron is a slow learner, already lost one sneaker, now he's gonna lose another." That was the man with the red hair. The olive skinned man caught on and added his jibe.

"Sneaker's not so sneaky is he boys? We heard him coming for miles we did, didn't we?"

"Ya, now he thinks he can stop us with that stick of his." the blond commented seeing that Will had readied his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at him.

"I would advise that none of you move or I'll put an arrow through your charming friend here." Will said. He knew he was in a bad situation though, outlaws had absolutely no loyalty to each other and if the blond got shot, giving the other two enough time to get close enough to him, they wouldn't blink twice. He looked deep into the man's eyes. Suddenly he had a doubt about his more recent assumption. Through the air of confidence he saw fear. Not a lot, but enough to be noticeable. The man met him eye for eye and then Will saw something even more surprising. Was that a flash of… recognition? But it was gone as fast as it came, and then the man was talking again.

"You know what boys, I think we teach the poor, misguided sneaker a lesson." His voice had dropped. Now there was ice in his words, and a sense of loathing. Will realized that this man had recognized him. Thinking hard, Will wondered where he had seen this man before. The blond added on to his sentence.

"Famous sneaker Will needs to learn not to be stuck up" The red haired & olive skinned men sniggered, but it was a cold, humorless snigger. And suddenly Will remembered where he had seen them before. They were definitely older, and they looked different, but they had the same eyes. The same cold, merciless eyes. Will gasped as the full recognition set it.

"Alma. Jerome. Yavin." Yes, he knew it was definitely them. The three second year trainees from battle school that had made Horace's life miserable until Will had saved Horace from a boar. That had been the breaking point, and these three decided they needed to teach Horace and himself a lesson on not undermining the battle school. They had already beat Horace into subconsciousness and had walked down to where Will was when Halt intervened. Horace had dragged himself down to where everyone was and Halt made each one of the three battle Horace one at a time. Horace defeated them easily and the next day Halt had payed a visit to Sir Rodneys. The three of them were expelled from battle school and the Fief. Will had never really thought about them again, but here they were. Still causing trouble.

"Sneaker recognizes us boys. Recognizes us all these years later. I feel so special. Then again, _I_ never forgot _you._ Or Horace. Or that other puny sneaker. See, we have a lot to blame on you after we got kicked out. We almost died. We had to do the dirtiest jobs, cuz no one wanted to pay poor, homeless boys like us. Eventually we learned to fight fire with fire. If we didn't get what we want, well, let's just say we're very persuasive. It seems however, fate has brought us back together. In fact, I should feel honored that they sent the famous Will Treaty after us. We should honor him with a feast boys. Or we could just kill him." He started towards Will, and Ebony rushed forward to stop him.

"No Ebony!", Will shouted. He knew that his dog stood virtually no chance against a man who was bigger and stronger than her by at least three times. He swing the bow to match the mans pace and was about to let go when someone grabbed his bow. Confused for a fraction of a second Will wondered who could have done that. No way could the other outlaws get to him in time, and why on earth would Wartholt do it? His thoughts were interrupted as the hand pulled backward on the bow. Hard. He let out an involuntary gasp of pain and a resounding crack echoed through the trees, accompanied by shock as agonizing pain shot through his arm. He tried moving it, to try and get his bow back, but it wouldn't budge. When he tried it was like someone was sticking a thousand knives into his arm all at once. He turned back to look at the commander. He had a savage grin on his face as he brought the bow back around, aimed for Wills head. He knew that with how strong Wartholt was, a direct hit to the head could kill him. He had just enough time to duck his head an inch so that most of the hit was deflected. It was still a devastating blow. Will let out another cry as his vision blurred and he toppled off Tug. As he came off several things happened at once. Will hit his head again, disgruntling himself even further, this time on a large tree trunk as he came off Tug. Wartholt dismounted his horse to come around and finish Will off. The other two outlaws arrived at the action and were trying to subdue Tug. The blond had discarded Ebony from himself and she lay there breathing slowly, unconscious. As Wartholt got closer Will had a sinking feeling. As he struggled to draw his saxe knife he thought.

' _Great, I get killed by some lowly bandits and a rouge battle master even after all the ridiculous quests I've gone on and survived.'_

As the blond ran over to help his companions with Tug, he shouted at Wartholt,

"Don't kill him yet, take him alive. I have better plans for him."

Wartholt shrugged and he must not have hit Will as hard as he would of. Will couldn't really tell, because the last thing he remembered was the cold look in his eyes as the bow came towards his face.

Will woke to the sound of voices. His head felt like someone had pounded it with a giant battle mace and his arm hurt even worse. He tried sitting up but he was fastened in place. Will cracked one eye open peering around at his surroundings. They were in a miniscule clearing with little foliage on the ground. He noticed five other people tied to the trees by their necks and waists. Their hands were tied in front of them and their feet were tied together. After a little shift of movement Will was able to deduce that he was tied likewise, with the exception of his hands. He noticed that there was a small pit in the middle of the clearing, probably used for a fire and a small tent just across from it. Tug and Ebony were tied to trees also. Sitting on a stump outside the tent, the man with red hair sat, dozing slightly. He hadn't noticed that Will was awake yet. Will tried to move his hands so that he could undo the knots that bound him. It was a fruitless effort though. He couldn't move his right arm at all without the unbearable pain shooting through his arm. He tried undoing the knots with only his left hand but they were tied too tight. Frustrated with himself, he tried even harder to move his right arm. This caused and even worse jolt to whip through his arm and Will let out a groan as his eyes began to water. The small sound alerted the red head and he started awake, glancing in Wills direction. Seeing that he was awake, he allowed a devilish grin to spread across his face as he reached back to slap the tent's entrance flap.

"Hey Alma, Bryn. Guess who just woke up."

Alma and Bryn exited the tent. Will saw that the two hostages close to the outlaws shrunk back from them. One of them, Will realized, was Skinner. Skinner glanced fearfully at Alma, the shot a worried glance in Will's direction. From the look, Will could tell that Skinner knew who he was. Will tried to signal that Skinner shouldn't say anything. He didn't know where this was going to end up but he knew he didn't want Skinner involved. Alma walked over to Will and squatted down by him. He looked into Will's eyes, looking. Will glared back at him.

"You know what, I don't think you quite understand what we've been through or else you might not act like this Will. You might understand why we want to kill you. Tell me something, what would you do if someone insulted the ranger corps. Then when you went to get your revenge, you were thwarted by your inferiors and humiliated. Then on top of all of that you were expelled from the corps., kicked out of your fief and left with your friends to find a life of your own after you had your whole future in front of you. What if you were forced to search for work for a year, living off of measly scraps of food and sleeping in alleyways. Then when you finally get a job, a decent paying one someone goes and blames a robbery on you and your friends and no matter what you say no one believes that you're innocent because you're an outsider. You get kicked out of that town too and now you're living off your wits again. Honestly it shouldn't surprise you that we started stealing, we had to live some how. But we also wanted revenge. We wanted the leaders who let the poor suffer removed. Kicked out. Like us. So I'm sure you will understand that when we kill you and send your body to the Baron it will be nothing personal, right? Oh wait, that's right, it is personal. But you can rest easy, because we aren't going to kill you just yet. See we want Horace and Halt too. They caused us even more pain and humiliation than you did. So, you're going to be part of a plan to capture your friends too. That way we will all be even. How does that sound?"

"Horace and Halt beat you all once, and now Horace is even more capable than ever. Plus he's a Royal Knight. Do you really think that they'll send him down here just to get me back?"

"That's what we're counting on."

"So this was, in the long run, a way to get back at Halt, Horace, and I."

"No, we didn't expect that the sneaker that they would send would be you, but it seems that Lady Luck is on our side."

Remembering a Skandian saying, Will replied, "In unpleasantries such as this, luck is a fickle thing."

"Anything that happens to you is justice, not unpleasant. On second thought, you're right it could get unpleasant , at least for you. Now, I'm going to need some information so that everything goes according to my plan. Let's start with where your friends are." Will raised an eyebrow.

"Two of the most famous people in the entire country and you don't know where they are? Well in that case I'm not telling."

"You will do everything I ask. If you don't, things could get… messy. Starting with that arm of yours." He reached out and grabbed Wills injured arm, twisting it as he did so. Will grimaced and turned his face away but didn't cry out. He wasn't giving Alma that satisfaction. He swore he could feel his bones moving in wrong directions. Alma let of his arm and looked back to Will. "Now, do you want to tell what I want to know, or are we going to have to do the same thing to your horse?"Will blanched as he mentioned Tug. Clearly Alma knew how much their horses ment to their rangers. If he were to break or even seriously damage one of Tug's legs, Tug would be crippled and Will wouldn't be able to ride him. He glanced over at Tug. He hesitated before speaking and that was just the silence Alma was looking for.

"Not even for your horse, sneaker? Well, I guess we will have to break one of his legs, then you should be able to tell us."

"No, wait!" Will said, but Alma was already striding over towards Tug pulling out his sword as he went.

"Tug, panic!" Will cried signaling one of the ranger horse cues. Tug looked at him, flicked his ears, and immediately started to 'panic'. It was a well rehearsed show used for rangers to get out of tough situations, usually while they were on their horse's backs. It would surprise an ambusher long enough for the ranger to 'fall off' roll off the road into the foliage beyond and for the horse to get out of harms way. Will wasn't using it as it was originally intended, but he figured it would do the job, at least for a little while. Upon responding to Wills order Tug let off a show. Will could have sworn that Tug was enjoying himself, and just showing off. He leapt into the air with all four legs leaving the ground. Spinning as he came down he bucked, reared, than cantered, tossing his head, in as big of a circle as his tether would allow. Ebony was barking and straining on the rope trying to get at both Tug and Alma. She too was leaping in the air turning and jumping around. Will almost smiled at the comical sight thinking that Tug had been a good teacher. The he noticed something that nearly made him shout with joy. Toward the middle of the rope, Wills acute eyes could see it starting to fray. Thinking quickly, while the others were distracted Will quietly slipped the knife out of Jerome's scabbard. Placing it behind the tree he used his good arm to saw away at the rope binding him at the waist. Then he started working on the one that bound his neck. This one was much more difficult, his arm couldn't reach up there as effectively and it took him much longer to saw that one. He didn't cut them all the way off, he left enough to make them look as if they were secure, but cut away enough so that at a moments notice he could break them. Then he turned his eyes back toward Ebony, just in time. As Alma tried to find a way to contain Tug, Bryn and Jerome circled, helping him. Then Ebony's rope snapped. She launched herself immediately at the figure closest to her, which happened to be Jerome. Alma cursed as Ebony latched on to Jerome's arm with her powerful jaws.

"Bryn, go get the crossbow out of the tent. Hurry, I've had enough of these damn animals."As Bryn ducked into the tent Will felt that this was his chance. He lurched forward with all his strength. The forward motion broke through the ropes and brought him into a kneeling position. Will was already on his feet sprinting towards Tug before anyone even noticed him. As he reached Tug he used the knife to saw away through about half of the rope before Alma let out a roar of fury. He hastily cut through the rest of the bonds. Tug had continued his wild dance keeping Alma away from Will as he cut. Now Will let out a cry for Tug to calm.

"Peace Tug!" Tug instantly went quiet and Will tried to fling himself into the saddle. Tug was already moving at a canter before Will was even half way in the saddle.

"Come on, Ebony", Will called and she detached and raced after them. Bryn had come out of the tent by now and was aiming the crossbow at the receding figures, while Alma frantically shouted,

"Shoot! Shoot!" Will heard the familiar ugly twang of a crossbow and cursed as pain flared up in his left thigh. He pulled himself one-handed all the way into the saddle and urged Tug into a full out gallop. He glanced down and grimaced as he saw a black shaft proceeding from his leg. _That's going to hurt a lot later._ He thought, then winced as his leg bounced on the saddle. _Nix that, it hurts like heck now._ Will felt the physical and mental strain of the recent event slowly sink in and suddenly he was tired. So tired. He told himself that he couldn't blackout, not again, but all of his mental protests were useless. He felt his head hit Tug's withers and let himself be lulled into darkness. His last thought before drifting off was, _How on earth am I going to be able to explain this to Crowley?_

When Will woke, the first thing he was aware of was sunlight streaming onto his face. He cracked his eyes open and looked around him. He was staring up at a canvas ceiling supported by ropes. He turned his head to the left and caught a glimpse of a black and white tail wagging slightly. Gazing towards the entrance of the tent he spotted Tug's head peering in and a prone figure sitting in a chair directly outside, apparently dozing.

"You supposed to be sleeping on the job?" Will croaked. The figure started at the sound of his voice and hurriedly turned to face him, a broad grin forming on his face

"Will! You're awake! Oh thank goodness, we didn't know for sure if you were going to. You got bashed on the head so many times it was kind of touch and go for a while. Halt and I were so worried. So was Tug, but you're ok now!" Horace finished slightly out of breath. Despite the situation Will couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. He immediately wished he hadn't, it made his bones ache. Horace must have seen him grimace. "I had better go fetched Halt and Linda." Seeing Will's look of incomprehension he added, "She's the healer that helped you. I'll be right back, don't' go anywhere." Will constrained himself from replying that he most certainly was not going anywhere.

Once Horace had returned with Halt and an older women whom Will assumed was Linda.

"We have to go back and get rid of those outlaws, free the hostages, give them a lesson. Which should hurt at least as much as I am right now."

Halt raised a single eyebrow at him, "It's all taken care of. While you were unconscious, Horace and I ambushed those thugs and captured them. That's why we're here."

"Wait, so how long have I been out?"

"About three days," this time it was Horace who responded.

"Great, just great. So how are all the hostages?"

"They're shaken but not seriously hurt. Skinner's a bit traumatized though, he wanted to retire from the corps."

"So what'd you do about that?"

"We nicely broke the news to him that he had quite a few decades left in him."

Will just kept staring at Halt, unable to hide the skeptical look on his face.

With this Horace grinned, "By nicely he means the he threatened to throw him in the moat if he even tried to retire, saying that this was nothing compared to the stuff we had been through."

Will nodded, that sounded more like Halt, "Are you sure he didn't suffer any more trauma from this little threat?"

"He brightened right up and went back to his duties actually."

Chuckling to himself, Will tried to sit up but his arm felt like it had burst into flame and he collapsed back to the ground.

"You really shouldn't put too much strain on that arm. You've dislocated your shoulder, broken the bone in your upper arm, and sprained your wrist. I didn't even know that a person could get that hurt in one area until you came along," Linda stated and once she had said her piece, she left the tent.

 **Present**

His arm was still broken and that hindered his movements. When he had finally gotten atop Tug, Will turned him in the direction the girl had left, and urged him into a steady trot after her.

" _So we're following her?"_

"Yeah, Tug. I want to know who she is."

" _Don't you already have a girlfriend?"_

Will was appalled by his horse's thoughts.

"That isn't why I'm chasing her!"

" _Oh good, because I would have told Alyss."_

"Wow, some friend you are."

" _Alyss would have found out anyway, she just seems knows these things."_

"Good point. Now, did you talk to her horse?"

" _Yup, his name's Cola-something-or-other and the girl's name is Jess. He seemed nice."_

"And that's relevant because…?"

" _A horse is only nice if they have a good owner. I'm saying that she should be a good person."_

"Oh, that's good to know." And with that, Ranger and horse continued to chase the stranger.

* * *

 ** _Well that was a really long chapter. I just really wanted to get the entire flashback in one chapter, I don't think any future chapter will be this long. Anyways, thanks for reading!_**


	3. Chapter 3 Alone

As Jess rode on down a well beaten path away from Sean, confused thoughts muddled her brain. What on Earth was going on? This was far too odd, she just couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened. The only thing she could think of was that those two trees had somehow transported her here from Texas. That idea was unbelievable of course, there was no such thing as magic, right? "Right boy?" she asked Colorado. Colorado shook his head as if in acknowledgement. He might not have understood her words but he understood her tone. Jess pulled herself out of her stupor and looked around her. The wilderness could not have been more different from Texas. This place looked like it was much further north, with large pines and lots of shrubbery. She could hear birds twittering in the forest off to her sides, and the occasional squirrel or two scampered across her path. Colorado's nose flared as he tried to take in all the new smells and sounds. He was a Texas horse born and raised, and he had never been outside the ranch's property, let alone the state. Focusing now Jess realized how well Colorado was taking this. Suddenly she felt sorry for him, she had been worrying about what was going on and hadn't even thought about her horse. She quickly took stock of her surroundings. At fifteen years old, she had rarely been out of state save when they went on cattle drives, but that was the same route up to Montana every time. One time it had been to Mexico when she was eight to visit relatives, the other was to go hiking in the woods with her mother and father in Maine. They had taken a course in wilderness survival which, as she reflected now, was extremely different from her Texas wilderness survival courses. Jess noted how they were going slightly down-hill. _Water flows down,_ she thought. The foliage was also very green. _No lack of water here._ Still nervous after her encounter at the inn, Jess decided that she should try and find a stream, which would most likely be off in the denser parts of the forest, but which way, right or left? Jess tried to figure out a way to tell. Suddenly a rabbit burst through the brush to her left, closely followed by a small fox. Colorado snorted and backed up a pace but didn't bolt. Jess was amazed to see that they were both soaking wet. She smiled to herself as they disappeared off into the woods to her right.

"Well boy, that as good a hint as any, isn't it?" she addressed her horse. The palomino snorted. "Come on then, she said." She nudged him off to the left treading carefully through the strange flora. Colorado tried snacking on the leaves and bushes as they pushed their way closer to the supposed stream. Jess smiled at her horse's behavior, Colorado had probably never seen this much green in one place. Finally after about ten minutes of riding, she could hear the sound of running water.

"Come on boy, right through here," she urged her horse through the remaining trees and was welcomed by the sight of a quickly-flowing river. _Good,_ she thought, _if it's flowing quickly, that means it's clean._ She dismounted and pulled the reins over Colorado's head. She lead him over to the stream and let him drink. Standing and looking around her, she noticed that the shadows were getting longer. Glancing above the tree line she could just make out the tip of the sun.

"Guess we're camping here tonight pal," she told him. She wasn't too nervous, she had gone with Colorado on campouts before, it was a norm for them. In Texas they would ride for a couple miles, then make camp and gaze at the stars until the latest hours of the night. The only difference would be lots more trees and the lack of a tent. Suddenly she thought of her saddle bags. She moved over to Colorado's left side and tore open the small brown bag. _Yes!_ There was a lead rope, a bottle of water, a couple granola bars, sunglasses, scissors, a body brush, extra rope, matches, bandages, and some disinfectant.

"This is great boy!" Jess exclaimed. No one in the Texas wilderness ever went anywhere without the necessities to survive the harsh wilderness of the desert. She mentally bashed herself though, remembering how her bedroll was on the back of Jonny's saddle, tied next to Jonny's bedroll. She hadn't liked the idea of letting him carry her bedroll but was prepared to do anything to get him off her case. "Ah well, this is still superb!" She tied the saddle bag closed again then went around to the front of her horse and took his bridle off. Clipping the lead rope to his halter she shrugged the bridle over her shoulder and walked him over to a tree. She spotted a good, firm-looking branch and deftly tied a quick release knot. She wondered for a moment if she should leave her saddle on, in case she had to get away quickly, then decided against it, Colorado had had it on all day and he was starting to lather. She unsaddled him and after unhooking the saddle bag, leaned it against another tree trunk. Hanging the saddle pad on the branch above the saddle to dry, she took the brush out of her saddlebag of gave him a good rub down. She whispered soothingly to him the entire time. She calmed down as she brushed. She hadn't realized how tense she had been. Colorado seemed to calm down too. A couple minutes into the rub down he stretched his head up towards the top of the branches. Jess was confused, why was her horse stretching? Then she realized he was trying to eat the leaves of the tree. She laughed and set her bush down. "You're always hungry aren't you boy?" she teased. Walking around the base of the trunk she caught sight of a low branch. She jumped up and grabbed hold of it, using her momentum to follow up and bend her elbows. She pulled herself up with ease, mentally thanking her father for all the times he had made her wrestle a calf down by herself. Her arms were strong and her feet sure-footed as she made her way up to the higher branches. She was about three quarters of the way up the tree when she turned and looked out over the countryside. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the land below her. Farms peppered the hills and villages were clumped along the grassy fields. Roads and rivers twined along, like blue and brown snakes. She sighed, and for the umpteenth time wondered at how different these areas were, then turned around again to break off a branch, missing the small figure way below her seated upon a small horse, quietly making their way through the woods. Jess scrambled down and held the branch in front of Colorado's nose. He reached out with his lips and daintily grabbed the branch from her outstretched palm. Leaving her horse to chew contentedly, Jess ambled over to the shore of the stream. She cupped her hands and splashed some of the cool, refreshing water on her face. Trying to rub the dirt and grime off, she was startled by a loud snort from behind her. Colorado had finished his branch and was looking off into the woods. Turning his head towards Jess he snorted again.

"What, do you want another branch? Because I am not climbing up that tree again, mister, you go climb it yourself." Colorado snorted again and shook himself. Jess smiled and walked over to the saddle bags, quickly untying the laces. She pulled all of her supplies out, trying to sort them into piles. She chewed on the edge of her lip as she always did when she was confused, and absentmindedly swatted and the bugs that were starting to come out. "Blast," she frowned. "No bugs in Texas, that means no bug spray. Sorry boy," she said, not missing how Colorado was swishing his tail. "What do you think boy, should we make a fire?" Her horse didn't respond. "Ah well then, be that way," she stated, contemplating the pros and cons of the fire. She was hesitant because it was possible it would attract people, in fact it was probable. Plus when she fell asleep she would have to put it out so the whole forest didn't catch on fire, and she didn't have buckets or anything to carry river water. But the smoke would help with the bugs, and it would provide a sense of comfort. "A very, very small one maybe? But what if I waste the matches? Colorado you are no help at all." Jess sighed. "Maybe I should have just stayed at the inn. Aw who am I kidding, I wouldn't have lasted five more minutes in that place. Blast it, I wouldn't have lasted one minute. Not that my chances out here are that much better. Probably all sort of creatures out here at night. Wolves, bears, coons. Oh! Bears! Food, food, food! Rope? Here it is," she said triumphantly after searching through the bag. Slinging the rope through the fastenings of the saddlebag, she threw the rope up over the tallest limb she could reach of the tree and pulled, hoisting the bag up as far as she could make it go. Then she tied the end she was holding around the trunk of the tree.

"There we go. Don't want those bears eating our granola do we?" she addressed her horse. He snorted. "You my friend are a horse of few words, aren't you." She grinned and pressing her back up against the trunk of the tree, slid down to a sitting position. "There, the food's safe. 'Course now they'll just eat us." she said in a more depressed tone. Suddenly she felt all of the events of the day come crashing down on her. She put her face in her hands. "Oh Colorado, what did I do?" She could feel the pressure building up behind her eyes. _Oh don't you dare cry Jessica McNally. Cowgirls don't cry. Cowgirls don't cry!_

"Lord help me. I'm here lost in this god-forsaken land in... I don't even know where. I'm stuck here, for all I know. I have practically no supplies, no friends, no help coming, no money, and no place to stay. Great job Jess. Just a stellar job. Why don't I just give myself a pat on the back. And you know what Colorado, Jonny's probably happy right now, he probably thinks I got myself lost. He's probably telling daddy right now all the reasons i shouldn't be on the cattle drive. 'Girls aren't meant to work on ranches, girls aren't strong enough, girls can't wrestle the cattle, girls are too dumb. Lord I hope he gets fired, he makes me so mad." Jess was angry. She knew she wasn't really mad at Jonny. Somewhere deep in her consciousness she knew she was just mad and frustrated and Jonny was the first person she thought of to take it out on, but she didn't care. "Stupid Jonny, telling me what to do. Thinks I can't handle myself he does. It's all his fault." she surged to her feet without realizing it. She kicked the dirt, but it didn't make her feel any better. It didn't change anything. It was still creepy, dark forest dirt, not beautiful, sandy yellow Texas desert dirt. The pressure behind her eyes was too great now, and she could feel small trickles of wet inching down her face. "What if he was right? Huh Colorado, do you think he was right?" she trudged off, shuffling over to her horse, who now looked a bright fiery red, golden coat gleaming in the shades and hues of the sunset. Subconsciously she grabbed hold of his mane and pulled herself easily onto his bare back. She did it fluidly, she could ride bareback almost as well as she could ride with a saddle. Colorado turned his head to look at her, but other than that he kept still. He understood. Jess reached down and hugged her horse. Her wonderful beautiful horse. She stayed there for a little, drinking in his soothing touch. His smell of horse and dust. His dirty white mane. The monotonous breathing. When she sat up she was different. Her face was dry and there was a determined look set into her face. "Thank you boy." she muttered, then in a louder voice, to herself she said, "No more feeling sorry for myself. Cowgirls don't cry." Colorado shook his head enthusiastically, pawing the ground. She slid off his back and landed neatly on her feet. "Okay now where to sleep? Not by your tree, with those clunking hooves by my face all night? No thanks, and I'm not sleeping by that tree," she said pointing to the tree that the food was hanging from. Bear paws are worse than horse hooves. How about…" she walked around the small area looking for a good spot. "Here!" she said, looking down at a fallen tree. It was big and it had fallen just behind two others, making a rather tallish area protected on three sides. "Perfect!" she stated, kneeling down and inspecting the area. It was facing the river too, so she could see her horse. It was well and truly dark now, and as Jess lay down, her hand went down to hover comfortingly next to her pocket where her jackknife was. "'Night buddy," she whispered to her horse. As she lay on the grass, looking up at the sky, her last thought before drifting off into a deep sleep was, ' _Different stars. How strange'._


	4. Chapter 4 Watcher

Will was worried. There was no two ways about it. The strange girl definitely wasn't from around here. Definitely not from Araluen, but Will felt like she was from and even more distant place. Her clothes, attitude, and accent were all unfamiliar to him. Tug whinnied and tossed his head.

 _You're such a worry wort, who cares if she isn't from around here, it's not like she'll do any damage._

"That's what I'm worried about, that she _will_ do some damage."

 _From what you tell me, she barely escaped the inn intact, believe me, she's not going anywhere. She'll probably break off somewhere to go find a good camp spot soon. And aren't we following her because she looked like she needed help?_

"Yes."

 _Then keep your eyes on the road mister._

Will snorted, but true enough, before long the tracks they had been following cut off into the brush to the left. Will sniffed the air.

"There's a stream or river nearby, you can smell it, and the dirt is moist."

 _So she knows how to find a water supply, she can't be totally helpless._

"That's a good sign." Will said. "Come on, lets go." They followed their tracks until Will could hear the sound of running water. Dismounting, Will tied the reins to Tug's saddle. "Stay here, I don't want her horse smelling you and alerting her."

 _Oh please, that horse couldn't smell me if I was right under his nose._

Will shot a look at his horse. "Stay here."

 _Fine_ , Tug seemed to say, sounding rather put off. Bow slung over his shoulder, Will crept forward until he could see the stream and the person and horse by it. He got there just in time to see the girl hop down from the tree with a branch in her hand. Will was just a few yards away from a tree that the saddle was leaned up against. Will looked at it carefully, it was unlike any saddle he had ever seen before. He wanted to study it more closely but he instead turned his gaze to the girl and her horse. The girl looked to be about fifteen, same age that he had been when he started his apprenticeship. She had bright red hair, braided down her shoulder and large brown eyes. Her face was covered in freckles and her skin was rather tanned, more like the Ariddi, except of course, for the hair, than any Arulens. The horse was taller than Tug, but smaller than Kicker, though he looked to be a well worked horse. He watched as the girl fed her horse the branch of leaves. Leaving him to eat his branch, she went over to the stream to splash water on her face and try to clean herself up. Her horse started whining, and Will realized that they were downwind of where he had dismounted Tug. He hoped that the girl didn't realize what kind of whinny it was.

"What, do you want another branch? Because I am not climbing up that tree again, mister, you go climb it yourself." The girl said. Then she started walking towards where Will was crouched. _Trust the cloak,_ he told himself as she neared him. She stopped a few feet away and started sorting through the contents of her saddlebag. The assortment of items were extremely odd, Will had never seen anything like it before. There were containers and packaged things that were completely foreign to Will. There were some things that he recognized, like bandages, matches, brushes, rope, and scissors, but there was a small tube of something, small little rectangular packages of what looked like food, and a large pair of what looked like glasses, but they were big and so dark it looked like you wouldn't have been able to see out of them if you had put them on.

"Blast," the girl frowned. "No bugs in Texas, that means no bug spray. Sorry boy," Will noted that she was from Texas, but where that was, he had no clue, he had never heard of it before.

"What do you think boy, should we make a fire?" she asked her horse. Her horse didn't respond. "Ah well then, be that way," she continued. She was silent for a moment thinking, before she started talking again. Will knew she shouldn't make a fire, with all of the smoke so close to town, it was sure to draw people. "A very, very small one maybe? But what if I waste the matches? Colorado you are no help at all." the girl said. Will noted the horses name was Colorado, another odd name.

"Maybe I should have just stayed at the inn," the girl was talking to herself again. Aw who am I kidding, I wouldn't have lasted five more minutes in that place. Blast it, I wouldn't have lasted one minute. Not that my chances out here are that much better. Probably all sort of creatures out here at night. Wolves, bears, coons. Oh! Bears! Food, food, food! Rope? Here it is," she had been searching through her bag, and she now pulled out the extra rope. Looping it through the bag, the pulled it up into the tree and tied it. _Smart,_ thought Will _, but useless._ He knew there were no animals around here that would come and eat the food. There were no bears or wolves around.

"There we go. Don't want those bears eating our granola do we?" the girl said to Colorado. Colorado snorted. "You my friend are a horse of few words, aren't you." the girl smiled, and Will smiled too, remembering when he had said that to his horse. Then, pressing her back up against the trunk of the tree, the girl slid down to a sitting position. "There, the food's safe. 'Course now they'll just eat us." she said in a more depressed tone.

"Lord help me. I'm here lost in this god-forsaken land of... I don't know where. I'm stuck here, for all I know. I have practically no supplies, no friends, no help coming, no money, and no place to stay. Great job Jess. Just a stellar job. Why don't I just give myself a pat on the back. And you know what Colorado, Jonny's probably happy right now, he probably thinks I got myself lost."

Will was pleased that he now knew the stranger's name, Jess. It would give him an advantage when he confronted her. But he wondered who these other people were. All the names she was saying were uncommon names, at least to Araluen.

Jess continued, "He's probably telling Dad right now all the reasons I shouldn't be on the cattle drive. 'Girls aren't meant to work on ranches, girls aren't strong enough, girls can't wrestle the cattle, girls are too dumb. Lord I hope he gets fired, he makes me so mad."

So Jess was on a cattle drive, whatever that was, and Jonny thought that she shouldn't be on it because she was a girl. Will grinned at the thought of this Jonny person telling Alyss or Evanlyn that they couldn't do something because they were girls. Both Alyss and Evanlyn would have put him in his place quickly. And apparently Jonny worked for Jess, or at least her father. So he wasn't her brother. Jess continued her rant. "Stupid Jonny, telling me what to do. Thinks I can't handle myself he does. It's all his fault." she was standing now, and she kicked the dirt. Will felt rather odd and invasive as he saw that Jess had started crying.

"What if he was right? Huh Colorado, do you think he was right?" Jess stated sadly. Shuffling over to her horse, she grabbed hold of his mane and pulled herself easily onto his bare back. She did it fluidly, and Will could tell she was an experienced rider. Jess reached down and hugged her horse. She stayed there for a little while, apparently just enjoying being with her horse. Will could relate, Tug was one of his best friends.

When she sat up she was different. Her face was dry and there was a determined look set into her face. She muttered something, then in a louder voice she said, "No more feeling sorry for myself. Cowgirls don't cry." Colorado shook his head enthusiastically, pawing the ground. Jess slid off his back and landed neatly on her feet. "Okay now where to sleep? Not by your tree, with those clunking hooves by my face all night? No thanks, and I'm not sleeping by that tree," she said pointing to the tree that the food was hanging from. "Bear paws are worse than horse hooves. How about…" she trailed off and started walking around the small area looking for a good spot. "Here!" she said, reaching a fallen tree, some twenty meters off to his right. It was a fallen tree that would provide good shelter.

"Perfect!" Jess exclaimed, kneeling down and inspecting the area. It was well and truly dark now, and as Jess settled down, Will slowly crept back into the ever lengthening shadows. He was creeping away no and just had time to hear her say, "'Night buddy," to her horse before he lost sight of the camp.

Will made his way back to where he left Tug, making sure he made no noise until he was almost there. When he reached Tug, who was standing exactly where he had left him, he stopped to think.

 _So what'd you find out?_ Tug asked.

"I thought you always know what I know?" Will retorted.

 _I do, but it will help if you talk yourself through it, you'll find an answer to your question faster._

"You're always a step ahead of me aren't you?"

 _Always._

Will shook his head, exasperated. "Fine. the girl's name is Jess, she's from a place called Texas, her horse's name is Colorado, and she's lost."

 _And what are you going to do about it?_

"I think I'll approach her in the morning, let her know that I won't hurt her, then take her to castle Araluen to she what King Duncan thinks. Evanlyn, Horace, Alyss, Lady Pauline, and Halt will want to hear about this too. I bet that even Halt has never heard of Texas before," Will smiled to himself, he rarely, if ever, showed Halt up.

 _Sounds good to me, we sleeping here?_

"This is as good a place as any, unless you want to go upstream a little and get a drink."

 _I'm good._

"Okay." Will loosened Tug's girth and replaced his bridle with a halter. Hanging the rope over a branch, he tied a quick knot. Then he found a good brush pile and settled himself into it. Extra camouflage never hurt. He knew that Tug would wake him if anyone or anything approached him, so he drifted off quickly.


	5. Chapter 5

Will woke just as the sun was coming up. He quickly rubbed the sleep from his eyes and regretted that he wouldn't be having a cup of coffee to start the day off. He eyed Tug, and realizing that his horse was awake and munching on the grass, decided to leave him be. He approached Jess' camp again, as he had done last night, and was slightly surprised to see that she was already awake. She was untying the lead rope that was attached to the tree. He watched as she led him over to the river and allowed him to drink. Will was glad, Jess appeared to take good care of her horse. Will decided to watch her for a little longer before approaching her, just to see if he could learn anything else about her. He watched as Jess led her horse back and tied him to his tree, loosely so that he could eat the grass, then she walked over to where the saddle was leaned up against the tree. She took the saddle pad down and picked up the saddle with one hand. She carried them over to where Colorado was tethered and set them down. Then she retrieved the bridle and put it on over the halter, leaving him tied to the tree. After bridling him she set the saddle pad on his back, and lifted the saddle up after it. Will realized he would have to approach her soon, or she would leave. After tightening the girth, Jess went over to where the saddlebag was tied up in the tree. As she was bent over, untying the knot, Will stood and started walking towards her. As she straightened, her back was to him and she didn't hear him coming. She was lowering the bag down when Will called out a greeting.

"Hello there," he said experimentally. Jess jumped and dropped the bag. She whirled around, slipping a small knife out of her pocket at the same time. "Hey, its okay, I promise I won't hurt you." Will held out his good arm to try and calm her. He wasn't entirely certain he could take her if she attacked, what with his busted arm and all and he was certain there was no chance of her trusting him if it came to fight.

"Who are you and how did you find me?" Jess was clearly trying to make her voice sound hard and in charge, but there was fear in her eyes, pure fear. She was just a girl and now this man had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Will had to admit, she had every right to be nervous. Jess was crouched down and had picked up the saddlebag, the rope hanging down touching the ground, she was slowly backing away towards her horse, knife outstretched in front of her.

"My name is Will. Will Treaty." He backed up a little too, to try and reassure her. "I was in the tavern yesterday, and followed you. It looked like you were new around here and needed help." Jess wasn't retreating as quickly now, but Will could tell she was very nervous. She was fiddling with the rope in her hands, and staring fearfully at Will.

"I don't remember seeing you at the inn. How do I know you won't hurt me?" Jess asked.

"I'm a ranger. We don't hurt normal people, just thieves, and you aren't a thief. _As far as I can tell._ You have my word." Will said.

"What's a ranger? Who do you work for?" Jess sounded suspicious, and hesitant, but she had stopped backing up just a yard or two away from her horse. The rope was bunched up in one hand, knife in the other, but both were lowered a bit. Her hands were still clenched tight around the objects though.

"We work for the King, we enforce laws and keep order. I can tell that you are not from around here, do you want to come with me? We can figure this out." Will took a tentative step forward. Jess was instantly on alert again.

"I am not going anywhere with you. I don't need your help." Jess was clearly not ready for this, but Will needed to tell King Duncan about this strange girl, who didn't even look like she was from this planet.

"Please, I promise I won't hurt you!" Will took another step forward. "Besides, it is unwise to resist rangers." Will took another step forward, then another. Jess couldn't take it anymore.

"No!" she yelled, and hurled the knife at Will. It was poorly thrown, but Will still blanched, and was distracted for a moment. He hadn't actually expected the girl to do anything. He straightened, thinking that this girl was even more different that he thought, just in time to realize the knife had just been a distraction. While the girl had been fiddling with her rope, just nerves, Will had thought, she had actually been tying a loop. He realized this in the split second it took for the coil drop straight over his head and down by his legs. It happened so fast that Will didn't even have time to react before Jess pulled sharply, causing the rope to tighten and pull him off balance. He let out a small cry and attempted to put his hands out in front of him to break his fall, but the outstretched hand just caused him to land heavily on his already broken arm. He cried out again, this time from pain instead of surprise, and a sickening jolt went through his arm. _Ow,_ was all he could manage to think. He tried to sit up, but it took him a couple tries, his arm hurt so bad. He blanched as he realized the fall had pushed something out of place. At this rate his arm was never going to heal! Will was able to look up just in time to see Jess pull the knot of lead rope undone, unclip it, and leap up onto Colorado's back, all in the space of about three seconds. She was already riding away, back towards the road, by the time Will was standing. _Dang, she can move fast, I'll give her that,_ Will thought as he ran back to Tug. As soon as he reached his horse he tightened the girth and unhooked the lead rope, jumping up on to Tug's back even faster than Jess had. He was confident they would be able to catch up to her. Tug didn't even have time to comment before they were off at a dead gallop, following the train of broken branches and trampled grass towards the small road. Will knew they were more than halfway to the next town and at this pace they would reach it in about five minutes. They rushed through the undergrowth, leaping over fallen trees and ducking under branches at a full gallop. Finally they reached the road and burst out into the sunshine. He could see Jess down the road a ways to the left, but already they had closed the gap some. He turned Tug to the left, and they raced after them. They were closing fast, but Will still had time to admire how fast Colorado was going, he was clearly train for quick bursts of speed, but he didn't have the endurance of a ranger horse. Before long, Will was drawing level with Jess. And he pulled up beside her, he saw a brief moment of surprise and panic flash crossed the young girl's face before it was replaced with hard determination. Will urged Tug forward more, figuring to swing him around and cut her off. Jess had apparently seen this trick before though, because she was edging her horse closer to Tug, to make it harder for him, but the ranger horse was too fast, he pulled ahead quickly until he was ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder at her.

"Slow down, or I'll cut you off!" he shouted over the thundering hoofbeats. He saw the girl shake her head and urge her horse faster, the town was rapidly becoming visible up ahead. Will swung Tug around and cut Colorado off at a forty-five degree angle. The horse no had no choice but to slow to a trot or get run into the large trees at the side of the road. Jess looked furious as she was forced to pull back on the reins to slow her horse.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jess exclaimed as she pulled her horse to a stop. "You're going to get us both killed!"

"Well I was never in any danger."

"I wasn't talking about _you._ I was talking about me and Colorado here."

Will looked slightly surprised, "Oh… well in that case…"

"Now, if you'll excuse me." Jess began to maneuver Colorado around them and Will urged Tug forward slightly to counter the movement.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I can't let you-"

"You're kidding me, right? I have done _nothing,_ absolutely _nothing_ wrong!"

"Wait a mome-"

"NO! You listen here Will Treaty. I've been mindin' my own business ever since I got here, it's everybody else that's been causing all the trouble. You have no basis for an arrest. I know my rights!"

"What are you talking about?" Will was really confused now.

Jess hesitates for a moment, reevaluating what she just said, "Well...well never mind!" Jess scowls at Will. "Can't you just leave me alone?!"

"Calm down, please. Your safest bet is to accompany me to King Duncan's castle, Araluen isn't always the safest place to be."

"Is that a threat, Ranger?!"

This confused Will even further, "What? No! I'm just saying that it'll be safer for you, a foreigner, to travel with a King's Ranger."

Jess just scowls at this, she hated accepting help from anyone, "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"Do you have any idea where you are, or where you're going?"

"Well… no. But that's not important. I'll figure it out eventually."

Will raises an eyebrow, "How about provisions then, or money?"

Jess's scowl deepens but she doesn't reply.

"I thought so. Have you changed your mind yet?"

Jess grits her teeth, " _Fine_. I'll come with you to your stupid castle, but only until I find a way to get back home."

Will almost smiles. "I'm sure we can make that arrangement work."

They'd been riding in a tense silence at a slow canter for about a half an hour before either of them spoke up. They'd passed through the small town without stopping, and they were now on a long stretch of road to the next town, Stannery. They would be hard pressed to make it before nightfall, but there hadn't been suitable inns in the village they'd just left behind.

"So you're obviously not from Araluen…" Will starts, trying to ease the tension.

"No dip Sherlock, figured that out all on your own, did you?" Jess retorts, not even bothering to look at him.

Will ignores this, wondering for a second who this Sherlock person was before asking, "So... where _are_ you from?"

"Not here."

Will suppresses an exasperated sigh. "You could at least give me something to work with."

"I don't know why you care, you'll never have heard of the place before."

"Try me, you'd be surprised at where've I've been."

"Oh? Have you ever heard of Texas?"

Will hesitates. "I can't say that I have."

"Mhm."

The two ride on in silence, with Will thoroughly put out, and with Jess restraining a small smirk. A couple minutes later, Will gets the nerve to speak up again.

"So where is this Texas?"

"The United States."

"And….where is that?"

"North America."

"You're never going to give me a straight answer are you?"

"I am giving you straight answers."

"Then why have I never heard of any of these places?!" This conversation was quickly causing Will to become exasperated.

Jess just shrugged, "I dunno. The U.S. is pretty well known in the world I'm from."

Will frowned slightly, "World you came from? Just how did you get to Araluen anyhow?"

"I don't really know. One minute I was in Texas chasin' a cow that had broken away from the herd, next I was here."

Will looks at Jess and raises an eyebrow, "So you're saying you got here by magic."

"That's honestly what it looks like!"

"Was the cow transported here too?"

"No, for all I know it broke its neck going over some cliff somewhere."

"Jess, I'm not sure I believe you."

"Of course you don't it sounds ridiculous. Maybe I'm insane and you're just a figment of my imagination."

"You seem perfectly sane to me."

"'Course you'd say that if I made you up."

"Jess, I think you might be a bit confused right now. Don't worry though, we'll sort this all out at the castle.


End file.
